You fainted?
by emmarae3579
Summary: NWZ: Remember when Victoria fainted when Alejandro was unmasked as Zorro in Like Father, Like Son? What happened next? Simple reveal happily ever after, two chapters, less than 4000 words.
1. Chapter 1 - You Fainted

Disclaimer: I do not own Zorro, nor do I make any money from writing this story. Dialogue and situations used from the episode are property of ZPI, the rest of the story is my property and cannot be printed or used without my permission.

Summary: Warning: I wanted another angry Diego story.

LaCorelli mentioned Victoria's tendency to faint in Diego's arms. Remember when she did it after Alejandro was unmasked in Like Father Like Son? Alejandro hit his head and thought he was Don Quixote, fell into the cave and thought he was Zorro. He was captured while protecting Victoria. DeSoto believes Alejandro is Zorro, but Mendoza is the voice of reason remembering he'd seen Zorro and Alejandro at the same time.

I don't deal with the episode, I just rewrote that scene and gave the episode an epilogue—simple reveal and 'happily ever after'. Thanks to LaCorelli for the idea. I kinda start off stepping into Diego's thoughts. Hope it makes sense.

Zzz

From the Episode:

"_El Zorro. At last it ends. The moment I've been waiting for…The moment that I've dreamed of since I came to this pueblo de Los Angeles. And now everyone shall see the face beneath the mask."_

_DeSoto whipped off Zorro's mask, revealing Alejandro._

Zzz

Diego anxiously watched the scene unfold. First, he rode into town to hear cutthroats were in the tavern with Victoria. Next, Zorro was apparently in the tavern tossing the bad guys out the door. He recognized his father immediately. The sword was obviously his; the outfit was genuine. Diego knew his own father. Alejandro had somehow found the cave- knew his son was Zorro. That was shocking enough. Why was he wearing the outfit? Maybe he'd heard about the outlaws and had come to protect Victoria.

DeSoto had his father caught, too. When DeSoto unmasked him, everyone would know the truth, not only his father. He was surrounded by the alcalde's men, and his father had just given his sword and whip to soldiers. He could probably get them back with little trouble, but now his father and Victoria were right in the middle of the fighting! And what would Victoria think? To have his secret revealed this way…he couldn't imagine anything worse!

Then, of all things, he caught Victoria in a dead faint. DeSoto knew Alejandro was Zorro all along? What was going on? Diego scooped Victoria up in his arms as a surprising emotion came over him: anger. He should be feeling relief. His secret was safe. DeSoto was a fool. Mendoza was apparently smarter than the entire pueblo.

Including Victoria. Maybe he felt some pain, too. That Victoria thought his father was Zorro for even a second… No, mostly anger.

He turned away from the crowd before he ripped DeSoto apart just because his own fiancé didn't know his name. This was his fault. He had to clean it up. Victoria's feelings might be ambiguous right now, but he still loved her. He wanted to shake some sense into her, to yell to the heavens at the injustice of it all, but he still loved her. He didn't notice he was grumbling to himself while climbing the stairs.

Ah, sleeping beauty decided to wake up. "You fainted?" Diego scowled. He didn't mean to say that out loud.

"Don Diego?" Victoria put a hand to her head as she woke to find Diego carrying her up the stairs. "I'm sorry, it was quite a shock. Your father!"

"My father! My father is a foot shorter than I am!"

"What?"

Diego reached the landing at the top of the stairs and turned toward her bedroom. "Are you alright now? Over the shock?"

Victoria tried to get her bearings as Diego kicked open her door. "Yes, why—"

"Good." Diego dumped Victoria unceremoniously on her bed and she yelped. "You fainted!"

Victoria sat up on the bed. "Don Diego—" She tried to stand and cried out in surprise when Diego put his hand on her head and pushed her back down again. She sat on the edge of her bed and glared at the caballero pacing in her bedroom.

"Oh, no, I'm about to be arrested!" Diego mocked himself before he barked out a harsh laugh. "No. Mendoza knows." Diego stopped and glared at her with a frustrated point toward the scene on the other side of the door. "Mendoza! Mendoza knows my father isn't Zorro. But the love of my life, who said she loved the man behind the mask? No. Not a clue. I'm standing there trying to figure out how to fight my way out of that mess. Instead…"

Diego stopped pacing when Victoria tried to stand again, and he held his hand out in a warning for her to stay put. "No. Sit." Diego pointed at her bed where she sat fuming. "You stay here until I figure this out. I have to convince the alcalde my father isn't Zorro. Logic says he's going to wonder where he got my clothes and sword. If you don't want all of us killed, then stay here. I can't think if I'm worried about you, too. I can't rescue everybody."

Diego turned to the door, but leaned his hands on it instead of leaving. Victoria watched with wide eyes as he fought some furious battle within himself, and sat back when he turned back to her with an intent stare. After only a second, he scanned her bedroom. She saw his eyes light on a small box on her bedside table. "Don Diego—" Victoria swung her legs around to try to grab it before him, but Diego was fast!

Diego held the tiny decorative box gently in his long fingers and Victoria stared up at him again in shock. He gestured with it as he tried to speak several times, but nothing came out. He paced to the window and back, then stopped in the middle of the room and examined the box, turning it over and over in his hands.

"I bought this in Paris, you know. Doubt you noticed, but I cut my trip short. I missed you. I went to Paris to…I had to come to terms with some things which happened at Devil's Fortress. Thought I'd escape to France for a few months. I loved Paris before, but this time…" Diego opened the box and took out the ring he'd given her as Zorro. "…this time I didn't want to be there without you. I'd rather sit in your tavern with you than explore one of my favorite cities without you."

Diego glanced up at her quickly before looking back to his hands, gently closing the small box and wrapping his hand around the ring. "Pathetic, right?" Diego walked to the window and looked out where he watched his father be led across the plaza under guard. "I wait two years to give it to you, then I give you the box while wearing a mask so you can hide an engagement to a man you don't know."

Diego turned to face Victoria. Her eyes were wide and her lips parted as she stared at the hand which held the ring. What was she thinking? Maybe he didn't want to know. He walked to the table and carefully set the box back in its place. Her eyes never left the hand which held the ring as he took a deep breath, let it out, and put the ring in his pocket.

Victoria took a deep breath, too, and it shook as she let it out. Diego pushed his fingers through his hair, then lightly touched hers as if he didn't want to risk setting off an explosion. His fingers tilted her chin up so her eyes met his. Diego's heart clenched as he saw the tears gathering in her eyes, but he had no time right now.

"Querida, I know what I want. I always have. Stay here. Stay safe. Let me try to fix this. I know I hid myself from you. You can't marry me out of gratitude or because of my courage and passion. You wouldn't be happy. We'll start over. Think about what you want. Next time you take my ring, you have to take it from the man."

Diego walked to the door and paused to look at her again. "If something goes wrong, go to the hacienda. Felipe knows everything. He'll keep you safe."

And then he was gone.

Zzz

Author's Note: So angry Diego seems to fit my mood recently…I regret every time I said something academic was easy, cause professional school is far from it.

I'm still not sure I like the second (final) chapter, but I should have it by next weekend. Like I said, it's just a short story, and I'm still trying to find some humor to add to it and trying to make it _**different**_. Hard to do when you're buried in sugar interconversions and neurochemistry. Also I keep wondering if everyone hated the end of Conquering Fear. As always, I really appreciate the reviews…they're so wonderful. Two exams next week. After that, I'll finalize chapter 2.

If you enjoyed, please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I think this is all I can come up with. I've been looking at it for weeks without improvement. I hope you like it. I tried to make it more funny, but… my creativity is dry at the moment I guess. Thanks for the reviews (in any language!), hope next story is better :)

zzz

Diego took another deep breath as he stared at the closed door. A servant came to answer the third knock, and froze in confusion when she saw Diego standing there and not answering the door. Diego had been sitting by the window for the last two hours waiting for her. He dismissed the servant and finally opened the door. Victoria stood still on the other side, and neither said anything.

Eventually Diego stepped back and gestured for her to enter. Victoria walked inside, but didn't turn around. Diego leaned against the closed door and wondered if he should say anything. She didn't turn around, so he walked past her into the library. He'd put his father to bed after the eventful day so he could speak privately with Victoria if she came to call. Diego gestured to a chair for her and fell into one himself. He watched her pace around the room for a moment before he looked back at his hands in his lap.

Victoria picked up a book and set it back down, looking around the library at everything except for the man sitting behind her. She glanced out of the window at the full moon casting everything in a silvery shadow. Leaning against the window, she finally turned to face the man behind the mask. He slouched in a chair playing with his fingers in his lap, his legs stretched out in front of him. At first glance he appeared relaxed, but she was looking now, seeing everything she'd always missed before.

After Diego had left, she'd been furious. Stay in her room? As if she was some child? Who did he think he was to order her around?

She'd frozen in her room on her way to her bedroom door. Who did she think he was? That was the question of the moment…of her lifetime. She'd collapsed back onto her bed and hadn't moved for probably hours. She didn't move now, either. She clasped her hands in front of her and remembered something else from the scene in her bedroom this morning. Zorro hadn't kissed her hand before he left her.

She turned her head to find the clock she heard ticking in the otherwise silent room. She'd always imagined she and Zorro would have so much to say to each other when Zorro's mask was finally lifted. She thought she'd be talking to a stranger, though. Was Diego a stranger? She had to admit to herself he wasn't. All along, he'd been there. He was much more integrated into her daily life than Zorro ever was.

Victoria stood away from the wall in surprise when Felipe walked out of the fireplace. Diego barely glanced up, and Felipe turned to smile hesitantly at her.

"He's afraid you'll be angry with him for pretending to be deaf," Diego muttered after a moment, still staring at his hands.

Victoria tried to focus on the boy instead of the fact that he'd appeared from out of nowhere. "Pretending?"

Felipe nodded and his smile grew as he held out a potted plant with brilliant yellow flowers.

Victoria stared at the plant in confusion.

"He wants you to have it. He's becoming quite the gardener, like my father. That's from his garden out back." Diego barely glanced up at her when he added, "Zorro's garden."

Victoria noticed Diego was still mostly talking to his hands. She'd never realized before how animated he usually was. People might think he was silly, might not understand whatever he was talking about, but Diego was mostly excited about things. Happy about life.

Not today.

Felipe nodded at her, and Victoria smiled and thanked him. Felipe seemed unsatisfied with Diego's explanation and walked over to Diego to nudge his shoulder.

Diego sighed and turned an annoyed glare at Felipe. "The flower is also useful. Treats mild depression." Felipe pushed at his shoulder again. "And he uses it when I get hurt. Thinks he's a doctor now," Diego added with a grumble.

Felipe crossed his arms and glowered down at Diego.

"Felipe, Thank you." She held out her arms and he stopped glaring at Diego to come give her a hug. "I'm not mad at you. Thank you for taking care of him."

She could see Diego over Felipe's shoulder, and was shocked at the look of longing she saw in his expression before he looked back down at his hands. How much had he kept hidden from her? Victoria ruffled Felipe's hair and nodded toward the door. Felipe smiled broadly at her and gave Victoria an encouraging look before leaving them alone.

Victoria gently set the plant down on a table. She stroked a hand down a drooping petal, ran a finger through the long stamens. She knew what a stamen was because of Diego. He talked to her all the time, even teaching her the parts of a flower. People complained that he lived in books, but all his knowledge made him see life more abundantly. He appreciated the beauty of a flower, but also knew its uses.

"So everything is okay? Your father? No one suspects?"

_Felipe used it when Diego got hurt_. A chill raced down Victoria's back and she pulled her fingers away from the flower and turned back to look at Diego.

Diego brushed his hands down his pants and laced his fingers together again on his stomach before he finally looked up at her. "The alcalde doesn't think very much when it comes to Zorro. He's blinded by his ambition to catch me. I guess today I'm glad."

Victoria was quiet for a few moments, dropping her eyes to the floor again before she got up the courage to speak. "Like I was blinded?"

Diego took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You weren't blinded. I worked very hard so that no one would figure it out. It's my fault, not yours."

"No, I don't think it is."

Diego watched her for a long time while she glanced around, before her eyes finally came back to rest on him. "You're not a foot taller than your father."

Diego couldn't keep a corner of his mouth from turning up in a slight grin. "Did I say that?"

Victoria nodded. Diego shrugged and looked back down at his hands, though now he still had half a smile on his face. She took a deep breath. "It's been a big day."

Diego sat up a little straighter, but rested his head on his hand, still slouching as he looked at her. "Thank you for staying out of it. I know it must have been difficult for you."

"Difficult for _me_?" Victoria flushed, her guilt rushing back to her at his simple thanks. She walked over to Diego's chair and knelt down next to him, resting her hands on the arm of his chair. She glanced at his hand in his lap, afraid to reach for him in case he pulled away from her.

"I'm sorry for how I've treated you, for how I reacted earlier. I'm sorry. I'm not sure what I was thinking earlier today, but I did a lot of thinking after you left."

"Come to any conclusions?"

Victoria's fingers fidgeted nervously on the arm of the chair as she stared at her hands. "I think…if you're not too mad…I think today can be a good thing."

"You do?"

"You said you loved me." Victoria glanced up at him, but his expression revealed nothing. "You said some other things."

"I did."

Victoria bit back her frustration. "I do know you. Sometimes you slipped when you weren't wearing the mask. You stood up to the alcalde." Victoria smoothed a hand over the lace which covered the arm of Diego's chair. "I've always considered you my best friend. Zorro may have hidden from me, but you never did."

"I never wanted to. I didn't want to put you in danger." Diego couldn't help it anymore. A finger reached out to stroke her cheek, and Victoria took his hand, kissed it and held it between hers.

She glanced around, intimidated now by the library she'd been in dozens of times throughout the years. "You really want to marry me?"

Diego smiled. "You sound so surprised." Diego ran a thumb over the back of her hand. "Only if you love me, too. Zorro is needed right now, but I'm a peaceful man. I'll never be a man of action without the mask. I want a quiet life, and someone to share it with. I manage cattle and breed horses, and I read books and play in my lab. My home is two miles from the pueblo. This is where I live. This is what our life would be."

"You come to the pueblo all the time. You're in my tavern almost every day!" Victoria blushed when Diego just smiled at her, and she looked down at their hands again when she realized he only came to see her.

"You've never expressed an interest in getting married before," Victoria whispered as she stroked a finger over his hand.

"The woman I wanted was in love with a legend. Hard to compete."

Victoria could see he honestly believed his words. She sat back on her heels, sad when he took his hand back.

"You said we could start over. We have a history. Two histories. We shouldn't have to start over." She stared at her hands for a moment before meeting his eyes again. "I'd like my ring back."

"Just like that?"

"Does it have to be more complicated? We've waited four years."

"I wish it wasn't. I'm not sure you've thought this through. Getting married is forever, Victoria."

"I know that," Victoria snapped.

"It would mean giving up your tavern." Victoria raised her head, and he could see surprise in her eyes. "Or at least hiring a manager. Sharing your life with someone means living together. Working together. I want children. You don't have to cook and clean, but you'd have a large house to manage. I have every confidence you can do it, but do you want to?"

"That's what I've always wanted, Diego." Victoria glanced around and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I…I guess I never thought about it…about what Zorro's life was like. I've always been on my own."

"And you can't marry me because I'm Zorro." Diego's voice was firm after all their hushed tones.

"Diego," Victoria scolded, "that's not why I'm here."

"Are you sure?"

"What do I have to say to convince you?" Victoria looked back at her hands in her lap and bit her lip to keep the tears out of her eyes. She'd been so blind, had been so callous to him for too long.

"Then there's still the issue of Zorro. You'd have to make everyone believe you don't care about him anymore. People will talk. And how many times have you called out to Zorro when I was in danger?" He sat up to be closer to her and waited for her to look up at him. "Next time, will you call out Zorro or Diego?"

Victoria was quiet. "If I'm living here, I won't be in town when you're fighting. I won't be there to help you."

"And you won't be there to distract me. I'd like it if you were away from danger." Diego reached out when a tear fell and he stroked a hand down her hair. "But if I'm arrested, and you're married to me…" Diego continued before she could interrupt. "You have to think loving me is worth the risk. There's a very dangerous reason I wear a mask. Marrying me would put you in greater in danger."

Victoria quickly rose to her knees again, and before Diego could back away she put a hand to his cheek and brought her lips to his. "I love you. That's all that matters. Now that I know who you are, now that I know my best friend isn't oblivious to the suffering around him, I want to marry you, if you'll have me. I love you. We'll be stronger together than apart. I'm sorry I never saw it before."

Diego caressed her cheek as she kissed him again. "You're sure? I don't want to make you unhappy. You'd be married to a coward."

Victoria smiled at him. "I'd be married to the most wonderful man I know. Who cares what anyone else thinks?"

Diego started forgetting what they were supposed to be talking about when she kissed him again. "Querida, I love you. I'll make you happy, I swear."

Victoria smiled brilliantly at him, and this time Diego cradled her face and took control of the kiss. Victoria sighed against his mouth, her fingers threading into his hair to hold him close.

They were getting married, Diego thought. His hands smoothed down her back, took her arms and pulled her up to sit with him in his favorite chair. She could sit with him every day now, he thought as his arms wrapped around her. She was so soft, and she smelled like flowers. She'd changed her clothes since this morning, and he wondered if she'd changed and put on perfume for him. Her shirt was soft beneath his hands as he stroked her back, but her skin was softer when his other hand caressed her neck.

"My father's asleep." Diego traced a shiny lip with his thumb. "We're alone. I should take you home."

"You haven't given me my ring back yet," Victoria whispered against his lips before she kissed him again.

"Sure you wouldn't rather marry my father?" Victoria scowled at him and Diego sat back, running a hand up and down her back. His grin turned challenging and wicked. "Ring is in my pocket. How bad do you want it?"

It turned out Victoria wanted it very badly.

Zzz

Author's Note: Diego's always getting on his knees. Wanted to switch it up. If it made you smile, please review.

Author's Question: How many people would be opposed to Diego (early in the series) wanting Victoria but not be ready for marriage? T not M, no sex. He'd start out flawed, Victoria would stand up for the future she wants, then of course he'd realize the error of his ways and beg Victoria to forgive & marry him.

Different? Completely against character and you'd never ever read it? Just curious. Let me know!


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